Kimberly Osberg

Kim is proof that good things can come from social media.

I learned about Kim and her works through Twitter, many, many years before I finally invented an excuse for us to collaborate. (She has a great duo for flute and clarinet called "Suite-Ass Cycle." It has a pterodactyl movement. That's really all I needed to know.) 

Several years and a few internet jokes later, she became a colleague - twice over. When we finally did schedule a time to collaborate, I showed her a whimsical coffee table book about weird chickens, expecting her to laugh. She was delighted. I'm hoping to keep her around for many, many more projects.

Fowl Play ​for flute quartet


Back in the days when every community had a Barnes and Noble bookstore, I stumbled across a coffee table book called Extraordinary Chickens. I was amused by the title, but fell in love with Stephen Green-Armytage’s unique artistic vision. The book is a collections photographs of chickens, but with stark backgrounds, reminiscent of a high-fashion shoot.

Years later, Kim was willing - maybe even enthusiastic - about creating musical tributes to those chickens. Since encountering Extraordinary Chickens, I’ve loved the head plumage of the Polish chicken, and the way their head feathers make them resemble a mad scientist or a young John Lennon. In all of the photos, their mouths are open, as if smiling, or they’re energetically attending to chicken business. Similarly, Discopeckque is a joyful romp through a chicken universe, with the added chaos of truly fancy feathers. 

Kim was drawn to one of the oldest breeds of chicken, the Duckwing Phoenix and its long, graceful tail-feathers. This movement juxtaposes the alto and bass flutes for the inherent beauty of those elegant tails, but even elegant chickens aren’t able to stay serious for long.
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The silkie chicken, so fluffy you can barely tell it’s a chicken, is known to be among friendliest breed of chicken and is often kept as a pet. In Featherbrained, Osberg captures their gentle nature with flutter tongue, pizzicato, and gentle tremolos.
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Originally from the Indonesian islands, Sumatra chickens are among the most striking; some are solid black, including feathers, beaks, eyes, and waddles. They’re also a unique breed in that they’re the only chickens that can reliably fly. Cock Flight pits two piccolos against one another to evoke their unique plumage, their graceful flight, and a “plucky” chicken energy to finish the piece.

Another pandemic commission, Fowl Play was recorded in 2021, before it was heard live. It received its live premiere at the Florida Flute Association's 47th Annual Flute Convention, and has since been performed at the Music by Women Festival in Mississippi, and been accepted for the NFA's 51st Convention in Phoenix, Arizona, as well as the CMS National Conference in Orlando, Florida.

Hoppy Feet for solo flute

The rockhopper penguin, smallest of the crested penguin, is known for the thin yellow and black crest behind their red eyes, and for the exuberant way they travel from place to place. Rockhoppers are found on the rocky beaches of Chile and New Zealand, and as the name suggests, often hop across the more difficult terrain.

During the pandemic lockdown, many zoos and aquariums used the quiet to allow animals to explore new habitats. I loved videos of the rockhoppers traveling together, hopping en masse down stairs, through corridors, and exploring new places with an enthusiasm that bordered on comic. There was one video, in particular, that my husband remarked, had "my energy." 

Kim uses a variety of special effects to capture their unique interaction with the world - tremolos and color effects for the deep-sea diving, trumpet effects for their boisterous vocalizations, and lots  -  and lots - of character.

This work premiered at Missouri Southern State University in 2021.